VidCon

For the electronic camera tube, see Vidicon.

VidCon is an annual convention for influencers, fans, executives, and online brands. The event primarily features prominent video stars from across the internet. It was founded by veteran YouTube creators John and Hank Green (Vlogbrothers), and was later acquired by Viacom (now Paramount) in 2018 and later acquired by Informa in 2024. Its offices remain in Missoula, Montana, sharing a building with Complexly. VidCon's international presence continues to expand with additional events planned in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Mexico City, Australia, and São Paulo. In October 2020, VidCon Now relaunched as an ongoing, free digital offering.

VidCon
Status	Active
Genre	Online video influencer conference
Venue	Hyatt Regency Century Plaza (2010–11) Anaheim Convention Center (2012–present)
Location(s)	Los Angeles, California (2010–11) Anaheim, California (2012–present)
Country	United States
Inaugurated	July 9, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-07-09)
Most recent	June 26 – 29, 2024
Next event	TBD
Attendance	75,000 (2019)
Organized by	Independent (2010–2018) Viacom (2018–2019) Paramount Global (2019–2024) Informa (2024–present)
Website	vidcon.com
[1]

History

VidCon founders Hank and John Green at VidCon 2014

The first VidCon was held on July 9–11, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles and sold out in advance,^[2] with over 1,400 people attending.^[3]

In February 2018, Viacom (owner of the Viacom Media Networks and film studio Paramount Pictures) announced that they were acquiring VidCon, as part of its efforts to expand its live events business and expand from TV programming to next-generation entertainment platforms. Jim Louderback will remain the CEO of the convention, and co-founder Hank Green will continue to be involved and work closely with the team. Its offices will also exist in Missoula, Montana.^[4][5] Internet reception to this acquisition was mixed, with some noting the irony of Viacom acquiring VidCon a decade after their lawsuit against Google and YouTube for copyright infringement. Hank Green reassured fans that Viacom's acquisition^[6] would allow the convention to flourish.^[7][8] Three conferences were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a series of online programming, VidCon Now, became available for registration.^[9]

In March 2021, VidCon announced that it would host its next U.S. conference at the Anaheim Convention Center from October 22–24, 2021, delayed from its usual summer scheduling in order to increase the chance that an in-person event could be held.^[10] VidCon also announced that TikTok would be the top sponsor of the 2021 event, replacing YouTube who had been the main sponsor since 2013.^[11] On August 20, however, VidCon announced the cancellation of its 2021 event "due to the recent increases in COVID-19 cases [in California] and evolving health and safety mandates." The convention was rescheduled to June 22–25, 2022 in Anaheim.^[12] The 2023 event was held between June 21–24 and was sponsored by YouTube for the first time since 2019.

Events

Year	Date	Venue	City	Country	Attendance	Ref.
VidCon 2010	July 9–11, 2010	Hyatt Regency Century Plaza	Anaheim, California	United States	1,400	[3]
VidCon 2011	July 28–30, 2010				2,500	[13]
VidCon 2012	June 29-30, 2012	Anaheim Convention Center			7,000	[14]
VidCon 2013	August 1–3, 2013				12,000	[15]
VidCon 2014	June 26–28, 2014				18,000	[16]
VidCon 2015	July 23-25, 2015				20,000	[17]
VidCon 2016	June 23-25, 2016				26,400	[18]
VidCon Europe 2017	April 8–9, 2017	RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre	Amsterdam, North Holland	Netherlands
VidCon 2017	June 22-24, 2017	Anaheim Convention Center	Anaheim, California	United States	31,000	[19]
VidCon Australia 2017	September 9–10, 2017	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre	Melbourne, Victoria	Australia
VidCon Europe 2018	March 22-24, 2018	Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam	Amsterdam, North Holland	Netherlands
VidCon 2018	June 20-23, 2018	Anaheim Convention Center	Anaheim, California	United States	75,000	[20]
VidCon Australia 2018	August 31–September 2, 2018	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre	Melbourne, Victoria	Australia
VidCon London 2019	February 14–17, 2019	ExCeL London	London, England	United Kingdom
VidCon 2019	July 10-13, 2019	Anaheim Convention Center	Anaheim, California	United States	75,000	[21]
VidCon Australia 2019	September 19–22, 2019	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre	Melbourne, Victoria	Australia
VidCon Asia	Dec 3, 2019 – Dec 4, 2019	Raffles City Convention Center	Downtown Core	Singapore
VidCon London 2020	February 20–23, 2020	ExCeL London	London, England	United Kingdom
VidCon 2020	Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
VidCon 2021	Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
VidCon Asia 2021	November 25, 2021	Suntec Convention Centre	Marina Centre	Singapore
VidCon Abu Dhabi	December 3–6, 2021	Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates
VidCon Mexico 2021	December 3–6, 2021	Citibanamex Center	Mexico City	Mexico
VidCon 2022	June 22–25, 2022	Anaheim Convention Center	Anaheim, California	United States	50,000	[22]
VidCon Mexico 2022	September 23-25, 2022	Citibanamex Center	Mexico City	Mexico
VidCon Anaheim 2023	June 21–24, 2023	Anaheim Convention Center	Anaheim, California	United States	55,000	[23]
VidCon Anaheim 2024	June 26–29, 2024	Anaheim Convention Center	Anaheim, California	United States	55,000	[24]
VidCon Mexico 2024	August 9–11, 2024	Citibanamex Center	Mexico City	Mexico

International conventions

Convention	Country	Location(s)	Venue	Inaugural event	Most recent
VidCon London (Formerly VidCon Europe)	Netherlands (2017–18)  United Kingdom (2019–2020)	Amsterdam (2017–18) London (2019–2020)	RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre (2017) Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam (2018) ExCeL London (2019–2020)	April 8–9, 2017	February 20–23, 2020
VidCon Australia	Australia	Melbourne	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre	September 9–10, 2017	September 19–22, 2019
VidCon Asia	Singapore	Singapore	Raffles City Convention Centre	December 3–4, 2019	November 25, 2021
VidCon Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre	December 3–6, 2021	—
VidCon Mexico	Mexico	Mexico City	Citibanamex Center	May 6–9, 2021

References

1. "VidCon 2019". CNN. July 15, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
2. "Twitter / VidCon 2010". Archived from the original on April 5, 2017.
3. Pham, Alex (July 10, 2010). "Vidcon conference celebrates YouTube culture". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
4. Lopez, Ricardo (February 5, 2018). "Viacom Acquiring VidCon (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
5. Spangler, Todd (February 7, 2018). "Viacom Announces Acquisition of VidCon Internet-Video Conference". Variety. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
6. Spangler, Todd (February 9, 2018). "YouTubers React to Viacom's VidCon Acquisition". Variety. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
7. Lopez, Ricardo (February 5, 2018). "Viacom Acquiring VidCon (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
8. Spangler, Todd (February 7, 2018). "Viacom Announces Acquisition of VidCon Internet-Video Conference". Variety. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
9. "VidCon Isn't Happening in Anaheim, So It's Launching a Free Series of Online Programming All Summer". Variety. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
10. Spangler, Todd (March 23, 2021). "VidCon 2021 Sets Dates, Featured Creators for Return to Anaheim Convention Center".
11. Lorenz, Taylor (June 16, 2021). "TikTok takes over the top sponsor spot at VidCon, edging out YouTube". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
12. Spangler, Todd (August 20, 2021). "VidCon 2021 Canceled After Rise in COVID Cases". Variety. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
13. Wallenstein, Andrew (August 1, 2011). "VidCon revels in YouTube". Variety. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011.
14. Miller, Liz Shannon (July 1, 2012). "VidCon 2012: love, respect and double rainbows". GigaOM. Archived from the original on July 2, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
15. Graham, Jefferson (August 4, 2013). "VidCon brings out YouTube fans". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
16. Hamedy, Saba (June 29, 2014). "VidCon 2014: 5 things you may have missed (picture 4 caption)". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
17. America, Kia Motors. "Kia Motors Engages and Empowers Fans at VidCon 2015". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved December 9, 2020.
18. "28 Reasons Why VidCon 2017 is a Must-Attend Event for Publishers, Brands, & Marketers". Tubular Insights. June 13, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
19. "VidCon, World's Largest Online Video Conference, Set for Return to Melbourne". www.melbournecb.com.au. February 21, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
20. Bloom, David. "A Decade After The Basement Ballroom, VidCon Has Become Essential In Influencer World". Forbes. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
21. Yurieff, Kaya (July 15, 2019). "Teens, screams and celebrity YouTubers: This is VidCon 2019". CNN. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
22. Chan, J. Clara (June 28, 2022). "Even Top Creators Find That Star Power Is Fleeting". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2022. and Dickson, E. J. (June 29, 2022). "VidCon 2022 Was a Candy-Colored, Covid-Spreading, Content-Creating Extravaganza". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
23. Hoffman, Claire. "VidCon 2023: All the Eclectic Booths and Lounges That Caught Our Eye This Year". Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
24. "About | VidCon Anaheim 2024". VidCon. Retrieved July 10, 2024.

External links

• Media related to VidCon at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website